BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – The Gardner-Webb (16-27, 5-12) baseball team dropped game two of its three-game series with USC Upstate (23-21, 10-4) by the final of 4-2 on Saturday afternoon at John Henry Moss Stadium.

The Spartans gained an early advantage in the opening frame, scoring three times following a three-run blast by John Sweeney. However, Gardner-Webb came back with a single run of its own in the bottom half of the first. Merik Carter and Nick Capozzi singled before Dale Francis Jr. lifted a sacrifice fly center for an RBI.

After a scoreless second, Upstate extended the lead to 4-1 as Sweeney was at it again, pushing a single through the right side while scoring Henry Zenor.

Gardner-Webb was able to trim the deficit in the bottom of the fifth with a single run after a double to right by Francis but left two runners in scoring position as it trailed 4-2 after five full innings of play.

However, scoring was non-existent for both sides the remainder of the contest as neither team could push across any other runs with Gardner-Webb falling by the final of 4-2.

The third and final game of the series will take place tomorrow afternoon with a first pitch of 1 p.m.